Weekend Update

Our Babies Rock at Standardized Tests--A.C.T. here we come :o)

Yesterday the on-call attending physician at the NICU came over to our part of the pod to introduce himself. He commented (as have the other doctors) that the babies are really doing well, and--in the course of conversation--he asked us (very enthusiastically) if we would like to see their "growth curves". As you have gathered from reading our blog, the babies are closely monitored and measured each day. These measurements are added to their charts, and then are plotted and compared to other babies their age. We saw growth curves for weight, length, and head circumfrence. The curves for our babies were plotted and reference curves (based on percentiles) were also shown.

Quick sidenote for those persons who just couldn't crack the standardized test code. A "percentile" is a fancy way of talking about percentages and always go up to 99. If one is in the 99th percentile, it means that--out of a random sample of 100 people--that person would be "better" than 99 other people. If you are in the 50th percentile, it means that you are better than 50 (or half) of the population in any given measure.

The reference percentage growth curves showed the average growth for single babies at our childrens' gestational age (33 weeks as of today). It turns out that--even when they were born--our little ones were actually in the 50th percentile for singleton babies! This is remarkable, because higher order multiples (like triplets) are in competition for space and nutrition, and at any given gestational age are obviously almost always born smaller than their singleton counterparts. Just another evidence of the blessings we've received.

Brief Updates

The nurse said today that Ella will most likely transition into a crib on Monday (tomorrow). The plan is to give her a bath and see how quickly her temperature rebounds. If she recovers quickly, she'll make the leap into open air :o) Current weight--Ella weights 3 lbs 8.1 oz and has gained 4 1/2 oz in the last two days!

Joel surprised everyone (including the attending physician) by nursing again today. This time, he garnered 15 CCs of milk. The doctor commented that he is just "too young to know how to do that yet!" Baby Joel is awesome. Current weight--Joel has again pulled ahead of his sisters and weighs 3 lbs 11.6 oz (also with a weight gain of 4 1/2 oz since Friday).

Baby Grace is so sweet. Like her sister, the ambient temperature of her isolette continues to be decreased, and she is also consistently gaining weight. Current weight--Our Baby C now measures at 3 lbs 6.3 oz and has gained 4 oz since Friday. She currently has the most control over her eyes and will just look at you and squeak. Daddy held her and cuddled her for 1 1/2 hours today, and she was a perfect angel.

Waldröschen Update

Das Waldröschen (or "The Forest Rose") is a series of 6 novels written by the German author Karl May. Jade likes to read these books out loud to the triplets during his long hours in the NICU. So far--Doctor Sternau has successfully cured Countess Rosa Rodriganda's father of a serious illness, and the Cortejos have just instigated a failed attempt on his life. In the second story thread, the actual son of the Count of Rodriganda has discovered that he was kidnapped from his parents while still a small boy and sent to live with a band of robbers in the mountains. In his place, the Cortejos inserted their son Alfonzo as the fake heir to the estate.

The babies love it, let me tell you :o)